Maintaining load balancing after service application with a network device
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving a packet with a first one of a plurality of forwarding components included within a network device, wherein the first one of the plurality of forwarding components acts as an ingress forwarding component for a packet flow to which the received packet corresponds;
determining, with the ingress forwarding component, that a service is to be applied to the packet;
updating, with the ingress forwarding component, the packet to include an ingress identifier that identifies the ingress forwarding component in response to the determination that a service is to be applied to the packet;
transmitting, with the ingress forwarding component, the updated packet to a service card that applies the service;
applying, with the service card, the service to the updated packet to generate a serviced packet;
transmitting, with the service card, the serviced packet to the ingress forwarding component identified by the ingress identifier so as to maintain load balancing of packet flows across the plurality of forwarding components;
determining, with the ingress forwarding component, a next hop of a plurality of next hops to which to forward the serviced packet; and
forwarding, with a second one of the plurality of forwarding components, the serviced packet to the determined next hop, wherein the second one of the plurality of forwarding components acts as an egress forwarding component for a packet flow to which the serviced packet corresponds.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In general, techniques are described for maintaining load balancing after service application. A network device comprising ingress and egress forwarding components and a service card may implement the techniques. An ingress forwarding component receives a packet and, in response to a determination that the service is to be applied to the packet, updates the packet to include an ingress identifier that identifies the ingress forwarding component, thereafter transmitting the updated packet to the service card. The service card applies the service to the updated packet to generate a serviced packet and transmits the serviced packet to the ingress forwarding component identified by the ingress identifier so as to maintain load balancing of packet flows across the plurality of forwarding components. The ingress forwarding component determines a next hop to which to forward the serviced packet and the egress forwarding component forwards the serviced packet to the determined next hop.
-
Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A method comprising:
-
receiving a packet with a first one of a plurality of forwarding components included within a network device, wherein the first one of the plurality of forwarding components acts as an ingress forwarding component for a packet flow to which the received packet corresponds; determining, with the ingress forwarding component, that a service is to be applied to the packet; updating, with the ingress forwarding component, the packet to include an ingress identifier that identifies the ingress forwarding component in response to the determination that a service is to be applied to the packet; transmitting, with the ingress forwarding component, the updated packet to a service card that applies the service; applying, with the service card, the service to the updated packet to generate a serviced packet; transmitting, with the service card, the serviced packet to the ingress forwarding component identified by the ingress identifier so as to maintain load balancing of packet flows across the plurality of forwarding components; determining, with the ingress forwarding component, a next hop of a plurality of next hops to which to forward the serviced packet; and forwarding, with a second one of the plurality of forwarding components, the serviced packet to the determined next hop, wherein the second one of the plurality of forwarding components acts as an egress forwarding component for a packet flow to which the serviced packet corresponds. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A network device comprising:
-
a plurality of forwarding components, wherein a first one of the plurality of forwarding components receives a packet and, acting as an ingress forwarding component for a packet flow to which the received packet corresponds, determines that a service is to be applied to the packet, updates the packet to include an ingress identifier that identifies the ingress forwarding component in response to the determination that the service is to be applied to the packet and transmits the updated packet to a service card that applies the service; and a service card that applies the service to the updated packet to generate a serviced packet and transmits the serviced packet to the ingress forwarding component identified by the ingress identifier so as to maintain load balancing of packet flows across the plurality of forwarding components, wherein the ingress forwarding component determines a next hop of a plurality of next hops to which to forward the serviced packet, and wherein a second one of the plurality of forwarding components acts an egress forwarding component for a packet flow to which the service packet corresponds and forwards the serviced packet to the determined next hop. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A service card configured to be inserted into a network device and couple to a plurality of forwarding components of the network device, the service card comprising:
-
a control unit that receives a packet from a first one of the plurality of forwarding components acting as an ingress forwarding component for a packet flow to which the packet corresponds, wherein the packet includes an internal service packet header that includes a field specifying an ingress identifier that identifies the ingress forwarding component, and wherein the control unit executes a service engine that applies a service to the updated packet to generate a serviced packet, wherein the control unit further transmits the serviced packet to the ingress forwarding component identified by the ingress identifier so as to maintain load balancing of packet flows across the plurality of forwarding components. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
-
Specification